DISASTER MANAGEMENT
MODULE – I
Earthquake
CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION TO EARTHQUAKE
• FACTS ABOUT EARTHQUAKE
• EFFECTS of EARTHQUAKE
• MAJOR EARTHQUAKES
• SAFETY MEASURES
Earthquake
• An earthquake is the shaking of the earth caused
by the pieces of the crust of the earth that
suddenly shift. The crust, the thin outer layer, is
mostly cold and brittle rock compared to the hot
rock deeper inside.
• This crust is full of large and small cracks called
faults.
• Although these faults can be hundreds of miles
long, usually it cannot see the cracks because
they are buried deep underground and because
the pieces of crust are compressed together very
tightly.
• Each year there are thousands of
earthquakes that can be felt by people and
over one million that are strong enough to be
recorded by instruments.
• Strong seismic waves can cause great local
damage and they can travel large distances.
• But even weaker seismic waves can travel
far and can be detected by sensitive
scientific instruments called seismographs.
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• Earthquake occurs because of a sudden release of
stored energy.
• Geologists have developed several ways of
measuring the size of an earthquake. Two of the
common ways are:
1) The Richter Scale which measures the energy
released in an earthquake by measuring the size of
the seismic waves.
2) The Mercali Scale which measures the results of
earthquake, such as the shaking and damage that
people actually feel and see.
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Facts About Earthquakes
• Earthquake is caused by the movement of large
earth plates.
• Plate tectonics is the recycling process (Uplifting,
eroding and sinking) of the earth’s plates.
• Faults are areas where the earth’s plates come
together.
• Shaking produced by earthquakes is caused by
seismic waves.
• The Primary wave (P Wave) is the fastest seismic
wave.
• P Waves push and pull rocks.
• P Waves cause the booming sounds heard during
as earthquake.
8. The booming sounds are the results of P Waves being
transmitted into the atmosphere as Sound Waves.
9. The Secondary Waves or Shear Waves (S Waves) are the
slowest of the waves.
10. S Waves cannot travel through liquids.
5. S Waves shake the ground vertically and horizontally.
11. P and S Waves are Body Waves.
10. Body Waves are reflected and change to different
forms of Surface Waves.
[Link] focus is the place in the Earth’s crust where the
earthquake begins.
12. The epicenter is the area vertically above the focus on
the surface of the earth.
13. Earthquakes are measured by the Richter Scale.
14. The higher the number on the Richter Scale, the more
intense the earthquake is.
15. A Seismograph is an instrument that detects
earthquakes.
16. A Seismometer is the buried sensor of the seismograph.
17. Earthquakes are pinpointed by using a process known
as Triangulation.
18. Earthquakes can cause a Tsunami.
19. Earthquakes may cause fissures of cracks in the
Earth’s surface.
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Triangulation to Locate an Earthquake
Triangulation can be used to locate an earthquake. The seismometers are shown as
green dots. The calculated distance from each seismometer to the earthquake is
shown as a circle. The location where all the circles intersect is the location of the
earthquake epicenter.
[Link] can rupture gas, water and sewage lines
causing fires, flooding and contamination of water supplies.
21. Earthquakes usually last less than a minute.
[Link] World's largest earthquake with an instrumentally
documented magnitude occurred on May 22, 1960 near
Valdivia, in southern Chile. It was assigned a magnitude
of 9.5 by the United States Geological Survey in 20th
century.
23. Earth quake with highest magnitude of 9.0 on Richter scale
was occurred in Honshu Japan in 2011.
Effects of Earthquakes
Ground Shaking:
Violent ground shaking could last for up to a minute in
a large earthquake. It may be very difficult to remain
standing during the earthquake. Several hundreds
aftershocks could be felt in the weeks following the
main quake.
Slope Failure (landslides):
Damage from the earthquake-induced landslides can
range from severely weakened foundations and
structural failures, to total destruction.
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Liquefaction:
Ground-shaking causes some soils to behave like a liquid,
causing structures to sink, tilt or topple over.
Fault Movement:
A rupture of the fault could involve horizontal and/or
vertical movement of several meters. This could cause
buildings, roads, water mains, gas lines and power cables
that cross the fault line to be displaced.
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Major Recorded Earthquakes
Year Location
856 Corinth Greece
1290 Hopeh Province, China
1293 Kamakura, Japan
1531 Lisbon, Portugal
1556 Shensi Province, China
1667 Shemaka, Russia
1693 Catania, Italy
1737 Kolkata, India
1755 Lisbon, Portugal
1759 Baalbek, Lebanon
1783 Calabria, Italy
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Year Location
1797 Quito, Ecuador
1828 Echigo, Japan
1906 San Francisco, California
1908 Messina, Italy
1915 Avezzano, Italy
1920 Kansu, Province, China
1923 Tokyo, Yokohama
1932 Kansu Province, China
1935 Quetta, India (now Pakistan)
1939 Chillan, Chile
1960 Agadir, Morocco
1962 Iran
1964
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Alaska, USA
Year Location
1968 Iran
1970 Peru
1972 Iran
1972 Managua, Nicaragua
1974 Pakistan
1976 Guatemala
1976 Hopeh Province, China
1993 Latur (India), took a toll of about
10,000 lives
2001 Bhuj (India) in Gujarat killed more
than 13,000 people and destroyed
about 8 lakh houses
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Year Location
2004 Sumatra (Indonesia) : This
massive earthquake
resulted in massive
Tsunami waves which
killed more than 1.5 lakh
people in many countries
of South Asia, including
India. More than 50 lakh
people got displaced and
there was massive loss of
property and houses also.
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Earthquake Safety Tips
1. Prepare for an Earthquake Just Like You Prepare for
Storms:
a) Look for hazards in your home, workplace and /or
school.
b) Secure all the objects capable from falling during an
earthquake.
c) Put all breakables in fastened cabinets.
d) Buy flashlights, batteries and battery powered radios
and televisions.
e) Have fire extinguisher and first aid kit available.
f) Have several gallons of bottled water on hand.
g) Have charcoal and/ or propane in order to cook in case
of loss of electricity.
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H. Have cane foods available.
I. Have a Earthquake Family Plan outlining where to
go in the house (Safe spots) as well as meeting
places after the quake.
J. Have Earthquake Drills to practice the Family
Earthquake Plan.
2. During an Earthquake
A. Stay calm.
B. Follow the Earthquake Family Plan.
C. Duck and Cover
D.
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Do not try to enter or leave any building.
3) After an Earthquake
A. Check for injuries.
B. Listen to the radio and/or television for
important information.
C. Do not drink water until told that it is safe.
D. Check your location for possible damage
and safeness.
E. Relocate if necessary.
F. Call out-of-town friends and family to update
them on your safety and location.
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➢ India is having a high risk towards Earthquakes. More than 58
per cent of India’s land area is under threat of moderate to
severe seismic hazard.
➢ During the last 20 years, India has experienced 10 major
earthquakes that have resulted in deaths.
➢ Of the earthquake-prone areas, 12% is prone to very severe
earthquakes, 18% to severe earthquakes and 25% to
damageable earthquakes.
➢ The biggest quakes occur in the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, Kutch, Himachal and the North-East. The Himalayan
regions are particularly prone to earthquakes.
